Oliver Twist - Book Review

   Oliver Twist is a novel about an orphan brought up in a workhouse. From the very beginning, a melodramatic technique is employed by Dickens which is the unknown identity. After the death of Oliver’s mother, Dickens says that the infant will be exposed to so much suffering and harsh by saying “it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble”. In this scene, another melodramatic technique is used by Dickens which is the extravagant emotional appeal. This is crystal clear when Oliver’s mother says her last words “let me see the child and die”. This unknown identity x
   After the death of Oliver’s mother, he goes to a workhouse to be brought up. Dickens witnesses an injustice happening in England’s workhouses and tries to tell the reader the circumstances of the workhouses at that time. Equally important, Dickens explores the relationships between the “paupers” and the masters of the workhouse in Oliver Twist. Meanwhile, Satire is used to portray the cruelty, suffering, and the injustice in the workhouses especially through Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Mann. Mrs. Mann, the matron of the workhouse, is a clear example of the evil character. She tortures the children and “appropriated the greater part of the weekly stipend to her own use”. Like her, Mr. Bumble is the corrupt representative of an evil, unjust system. He is, exactly, like Mrs. Mann as they both do not care for the children’s suffering. He also divides the children’s “stipend” with Mrs. Mann. Moreover, he is hypocrite because he describes Mrs. Mann as “humane woman” through he know deep inside that she is evil and cruel character. Furthermore, Oliver’s most emotional scene, asking for a little more gruel in the workhouse but getting a harsh beating for his courageous act exemplifies the horrors of working in that place. For asking for more food, Oliver receives a harsh answer from one of the officials saying “the boy will be hung” and then Oliver is put in solitary confinement. In this part, therefore, Dickens attacks the workhouse system which allows the children to die of hunger, violence, and neglect. Moreover, Dickens criticizes the heartless officials who leave the little children in the hands of a murderer like Mr. Mann.

     Children labor is another characteristic of the 19th century. Through stock characters such as Mr. Gamfield, a chimney sweeper who employs children to clean the chimneys for him, Dickens portrays the harm of being under the care and custody of such a stranger. Besides, Mr. Gamfield is a nasty, cold-hearted man that “young boys have been smothered in his chimney before now”. Obviously, this man is a real criminal because he enjoys setting fire to the chimneys when the children are inside them. As a result, many children die of suffocation and his cruelty. Here, Dickens’ description of Mr. Gamfield and his way of treating children lack credibility. Also, Dickens uses biting satire against apprenticeships when Mr. Gamfield feeds Oliver scraps of meat that the dog refused to eat to get into the feel of an inhumane apprenticeship. After that, Oliver goes to work with the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry. With Mr.Sowerberry, it seems as if Oliver can have a better start at life but all children are treated with no dignity or respect. Oliver, without any other choices, is impelled to live like an animal, sleeping in the damp darkness, eating leftovers. The dog is living better than Oliver is and through this biting satire, Dickens effectively portrays the devastating life that an apprentice has to withstand.

    Commenting on the circumstances of the 19th century, Dickens sees that he should take poverty in consideration. Dickens uses the sensational scene describing Oliver while he is sleeping among the coffins. Dickens, in this part, uses this scene in order to attract the reader’s attention. Oliver is left alone among the dead bodies. He is terrified to death. Besides, he imagines that these dead people will rise from their coffins and devour him. Here, Dickens uses the vampire myth very effectively to comment on his society as he wants to say that people of this time are living death-in-life existence. They are like dead people. Further, they are unable to enjoy any of the pleasures of life. They are like the living dead vampires because they suck the blood of their fellowmen and spread evil, immortality, and corruption everywhere. Additionally, Mr.Sowerberry tell Mr. Bumble that “since the new system of feeding has come in, the coffins are something narrower and more shallow than they used to be” because people who die were thin, so most of the deaths result of starvation or famine. Social criticism is also pronounced in this part when Oliver goes with the undertaker to fetch the body of the young dead woman. Oliver goes through the filthy narrow streets of the city. Dickens, here, describes the sad conditions of the people as they suffered from famine and their slums are dirty and old. The houses are all about to collapse and there are rats everywhere among the filthy pool of water. So, he describes the poverty to reveal crime, immorality, and corruption.